News:
-- Iconic folk-rocker Bruce Cockburn talks about new work, touring and living in the U.S. --
-- by Tom Murray - LeaderPost.com --

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17 October 2019 - There was a very brief period a few years back where Bruce Cockburn wondered whether he was still a songwriter.

There was a very brief period a few years back where Bruce Cockburn wondered whether he was still a songwriter.

“It was just after I released my memoir,” said the singer-songwriter who plays Centennial Hall Sunday.

“I had invested all of the energy normally used in songwriting into my book (2014’s Rumours of Glory), and when I was done I looked around and wondered if I was still able to do it.”

That question was laid to rest with Bone on Bone, which went on to win Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards.

Now the iconic folk-rocker (and guitar wizard), known for an eclectic range of hits like the incendiary If I Had a Rocket Launcher, the lilting Wondering Where the Lions Are, and the heart opening Lovers in a Dangerous Time, is preparing to follow up with an all-instrumental album called Crowing Ignites.

Q: What was the genesis of Crowing Ignites?

A. My manager Bernie (Finkelstein) and I had come up with an idea to do what was going to be called Speechless 2. Speechless (which came out in 2005) was a compilation of previously recorded songs, with a few new tracks added on. We thought, OK, let’s do the same again, but I ended up writing so much that it became its own album. I had a lot of fun with it, and brought in these loosely structured songs with some improvisation, while others are less improvised. In the case of Seven Daggers I just played a charango (an Andean stringed instrument) pattern and then started putting stuff on top of that.

Q: Will you be devoting your tour to just instrumentals?

A. Not the whole show. I think people would be unhappy with me if I did that, and I know I’d be unhappy. There are a few that have made their way into the set list, though. There’s a piece that was constructed in the studio with me playing all the parts; the band I’m touring with can play those parts, while I get to do all of the show-off moves.

Q: Because of your propensity for releasing instrumental albums, as well as your similar interests in mysticism, I tend to put you in the same category as Richard Thompson.

A. We’ve been on the same bill a number of times, and Richard is a great guitar player. We have different skill sets, and I’m definitely an admirer. I guess that’s my way of saying that I don’t mind being lumped in with him.

Q: You’ve been living in the U.S. for a decade now, which must be very eye-opening for you.

A. I actually lived in the States the first time in the ’60s, during the Vietnam War, and that was similar in some regards. When I first started hanging out there again with my then-girlfriend and now wife it was a very different scene. It was Obama’s America, and it had a very different feel. In spite of what I felt were many flaws in that administration there was a generally positive atmosphere, and a kind of sense of hope in the air. That’s not so evident right now.

Q: It’s strange how the current government hasn’t quite galvanized the music scene in the same way Johnson and then Nixon did.

A. Well, when someone like Kanye West is a big Trump supporter … it’s definitely weird. People are very polarized, though it’s hard to find Trump supporters in San Francisco. It can feel like an echo chamber at times, because of the degree of polarization. You can’t really have a conversation with anyone about this stuff unless it’s partisan.

Q: You’ve been around long enough to have seen the way the political pendulum swings. Is it that worrying to you?

A. I think of someone like Ronald Reagan, who had a very public smoothness. I once spoke with (then-Sandinista leader, now Nicaraguan President) Daniel Ortega’s wife Rosario about a trip they took to Washington to meet the Reagans. They were invited to this party where everyone was very hospitable and nice, but at this point Reagan was saying things like he supported the (U.S.-backed right wing rebel) Contras and saying “I am a Contra.” In a diplomatic context he was nice, but from a global perspective he was awful.

Q: You can’t really call the current U.S. President a very smooth politician.

A. I think his cosmic function is to create chaos and disorder. It’s one of his two talents; the other is getting attention.

~from Leaderpost.com - Tom Murray









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This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.